Brian Damage
05-16-2007, 09:52 AM
ABC's decision to cancel "George Lopez" is a blow to TV, according to the head of a local Latino organization.
"We're very sorry to hear that," said Marta Garcia, director of the New York chapter of the National Hispanic Media Coalition. "We're very disappointed. There are very few programs that have Latinos in them on air, especially in something as popular on TV."
Though never a huge ratings hit, or a even a critical darling, "George Lopez" stood out because it starred a prominent Latino and was filled with Hispanic actors.
Lopez declined interview requests yesterday. But in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, he said ABC had "unceremoniously" dumped him.
He said the show was canceled because it wasn't financially feasible to continue it.
"TV just became really, really white again," Lopez told the paper.
"George Lopez" stars Lopez as the plant manager at a Los Angeles airplane-parts factory, with a wife played by Constance Marie and two rebellious children.
"I got kicked off for a ... caveman and shows that I outperformed because I'm not owned by [ABC Television Studios]," Lopez said. "So a ... Chicano can't be on TV, but a caveman can?"
Garcia said she was disappointed because there are so few places to see positive portrayals of Latinos on television. "George Lopez" was also special, she said, because it attracted non-Latino audiences as well as Latinos.
"It certainly improved the image of stereotypical roles that Latinos had been getting on television and in the film industry," Garcia told the Daily News. "By demonstrating a pretty functional family, a normal family, and the roles were quite funny, it was very different from what we'd seen before."
"We're very sorry to hear that," said Marta Garcia, director of the New York chapter of the National Hispanic Media Coalition. "We're very disappointed. There are very few programs that have Latinos in them on air, especially in something as popular on TV."
Though never a huge ratings hit, or a even a critical darling, "George Lopez" stood out because it starred a prominent Latino and was filled with Hispanic actors.
Lopez declined interview requests yesterday. But in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, he said ABC had "unceremoniously" dumped him.
He said the show was canceled because it wasn't financially feasible to continue it.
"TV just became really, really white again," Lopez told the paper.
"George Lopez" stars Lopez as the plant manager at a Los Angeles airplane-parts factory, with a wife played by Constance Marie and two rebellious children.
"I got kicked off for a ... caveman and shows that I outperformed because I'm not owned by [ABC Television Studios]," Lopez said. "So a ... Chicano can't be on TV, but a caveman can?"
Garcia said she was disappointed because there are so few places to see positive portrayals of Latinos on television. "George Lopez" was also special, she said, because it attracted non-Latino audiences as well as Latinos.
"It certainly improved the image of stereotypical roles that Latinos had been getting on television and in the film industry," Garcia told the Daily News. "By demonstrating a pretty functional family, a normal family, and the roles were quite funny, it was very different from what we'd seen before."